Colonies
The following is an abridged list of notable colonies of the United Empire. Colonial worlds of the UE can be categorized into three broad groups: #Pre-Union (UN) #Pre-Union (HI) #Post-Union Black Ridge Group 1 ''' '''Capital: Ammerzang One on the last colonies founded before contact between both Lord of War species, it served as a major naval base and arms manufactory leading up to the outbreak of the Intervention War. Although largely destroyed, it did enjoy a rapid period of reconstruction following the surrender of the Helbin. Reconstruction and land re-hospitalization is ongoing, but Black Ridge is now rising as one of the United Empire's top planets for light industry. Great Shanghai Group 1 Capital: City 01 Originally founded as a "Planned Colony", Great Shanghai soon found its economical niche in heavy industry, largely supplanting replacing Black Ridge as the heavy lifter of military exports for the UN following Black Ridge's destruction. It continued this tradition well into the UE, hosting a variety of orbital drydocks and refueling stations, along with innumerable factories. Salaas Group 2 Capital: Nakar After the discovery of Faster Than Light travel, the Holy Empire was fortunate enough to discover a habitable planet a mere 5 lightyears from the homeworld. A massive wave of colonization followed, with Salaas eventually becoming the jumping point for further colonization. Its opportune location, coupled with its history of early FTL travel, eventually made Salaas one of the most important centers for hyperdrive design, construction, and testing. Salaas is also notable for having an extreme rarity in the galaxy: a non-terraformed habitable moon known as HisIla. '''Almost entirely covered in a shallow ocean, HisIla's slow rotation around Salaas creates a hot and cool side, which fuels extremely strong storms around the moon. Only a few large islands dot the planet, most of them weather research stations or marine biology labs. New Haiti '''Group 1 Capital: Saint-Victoire One of the first official colonies inducted into the UN, its capital and namesake were given in honor of Betian Saint-Victoire and her country of origin. Betiane Saint-Victoire, also known as the "Mother of Hyperdrive" among mammalian Lords of War, was a physicist who is generally credited for laying the mathematical groundwork that proved that practical FTL was possible, along with formulating possible advances into FTL travel years before they were invented. Whereas most other early colonies of the UN were founded with a specific goal in mind, New Haiti's economy developed relatively independently, and as a result has one of the most diverse economies in the United Empire. Ivory-Hasii Group 3 Capital: Terrasharra During the course of the Intervention War, one of the greatest problems facing the joint forces of the United Nations and Holy Empire was the unprecedented amount of refugees from both governments. While Halshaa and New Chile became important centers for refugees, most were diverted to the planet of Ivory/Hasii, an uncolonized world due to previous territorial disputes between the United Nations and Holy Empire. Following the Treaty of Union, it was officially upgraded to the status of colony. As a compromise, the double-barreled name of Ivory-Hasii was chosen. Its rich soil and pristine environement has led Ivory-Hasii to become a successful agricultural world. 20E Group 1 Capital: Iram 20E, The Twenty Emirates, is a colony that was founded in the middle phase of UN stellar colonization. One of the "valve colonies" (a colony founded to relieve overpopulation on Earth), its original population consisted of Lords of War from the Earth landmasses of Arabia, Somalia, and North Africa. Like New Haiti, it's lack of a particular focus led to 20E adapting a developed service economy, along with a booming entertainment industry in recent years, hence its nickname "New Hollywood". Rass Alsa Group 2 Capital: Rass Alsa Originally settled by the Holy Empire a small refueling colony, its relative distance from other viable colonies eventually led to its use as a testing grounds for experimental weapons and energy sources. Its foreboding flag, along with many aspects of the planet remaining classified to this day, has solidified the planet's reputation within the UE as a secrative and humorless colony. An ongoing joke in Lord of War society is that anyone who says the colony's name in a sentence in online communication will stop halfway, with the implication that they were "silenced" for simply mentioning it. The Plains Group 1 Capital: Nova Town One of the most well-known "Death Worlds" colonized by the United Empire. With only a single large continent, The Plains is dominated by a great savnnah of the same name, covering almost 60 percent of the planet's landmass. Almost every organism in The Plains' biosphere is predatory, including most of the plant life. The most recognizable of these organisms is the Pharoah Bird, a massive aerial predator with a wingspan of over 30 meters. 90 percent of the colony's population is concentrated in the coastal areas, although large cities in the interior do exist. A popular vacation spot, but only to Lords of War. Other species do visit The Plains, but only if the individuals have either a history of psychosis or a violent criminal record. Grandharbor Group 3 Capital: Grandharbor A planned colony, its development was outlined in the Treaty of Union as the new political capital of the United Empire. Like Ivory-Hasii, the planet chosen was undeveloped due to its disputed nature, a fact that become irrelevant during the Intervention War. While many UE worlds contain biospheres far too hostile to most other species in the galaxy, Grandharbor's environment is relatively benign and temperate, which led to speculation that the planet was chosen to put on a peaceful "face" for the rest of the galaxy. The United Empire denies the rumors, citing that the process in which Grandharbor was chosen as the new capital took years, and not picked as a public diplomacy move. Grandharbor also acts as the nexus of the Imperial Armed Forces, housed in the facility officially named the '''Imperial High Command Headquarters and Staff Center. '''Due to its shape, however, it is almost universally referred to as "The X."